accu-check strips

[gonzo1, ASN, RN]

The other day at work one of the nurses told me that she has to take the strip container into the patients room because you only have 3 seconds to touch the blood to the strip before the strip expires or won't work.

In 10 years of nursing I swear I never heard that before. Can it be true? I would also think taking the container into rooms would be an infection no no.

help help help

[schnookimz]

Weird. Never heard that. Don't you think it would say that on the bottle if it was true?

[gonzo1, ASN, RN]

Yes, plus I sat through one whole day lab orientation and it was never mentioned. Something that important and particular I would have been all over. That's why I am so confused. Just want to make sure I do everything right. Even after ten years

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Not true, and not sure where she got that from. I take the strip bottle in the room all the time, because we have to barcode scan them at the bedside. Just wipe the meter and strips off with your sanitizing wipes when you're done.

[Do-over, ASN, RN]

3 seconds? Pretty sure the only thing I can accomplish in three seconds is blinking my eyes...

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

I think it depends on the strips but 3 seconds is a little extreme. For our strips, we have 10 seconds. We have to take the bottles in the room because we also do barcode scanning.

[ClearBlueOctoberSky]

You have anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds to apply the blood. If you haven't applied blood yet and the meter turns off, I take the strip out and reinsert it. Could that be what she is confused about? If she would think about it, just taking a strip out of the bottle and waiting longer than three seconds wouldn't cause the strip to stop working. They are just loose in the bottle, nothing there to "protect" the strips and keep them "activated".